Question about H&M Chinese leathers?

[foxwoodfarm]

I have been researching (on line and in person) before buying a new leather sofa, and probably some sort of chair and ottoman as well. Many questions, but for now will start with these:

1. H&M T&C - Are all the offered Cavalier leathers made in China? I was considering Cavalier Navy (on an Austin sofa), but I'm not wild about the Chinese Source. I saw in a different thread that Cavalier Navy is NOT a married cover and that it is cut and sewn in NC. Is that still true?

Which leads to this...

2. H&M Chinese origin leathers: In one of Duane's very informative posts here, he explained that T&C Married Covers in Document or Cavalier are cut and sewn in China. And elsewhere I think he said that ALL Document and Cavalier leathers are from China. (Whether T&C promotional or not) True? And now the real question... Are these Chinese leathers actually processed in a Chinese tannery from hides of native Chinese cows? Or is it just the cut-and-sew operation that is done in China? (from hides that were processed somewhere else?)

Thanks!
Nancy

[wisejd]

I don't have a clue about what Duane will say with regard to your specific questions, but I spent nine months or so learning about leather furniture prior to purchasing a recliner. I finally decided on an H&M Royal High Leg Recliner from the T&C program. All In can say is that in the end I found H&M products to be so superior to most of the other leather furniture I looked at that it became clear that nearly all manufacturers offer leather that has in-part had Chinese content (Labor and/or Materials). When we began this quest for some new furniture we didn't know if we would go for a recliner or a sofa first, so i looked at numerous sofas as well. The H&M products demonstrated quality over and above furniture that in many cases sold at significantly higher prices. Not only was the leather better to the eye and also the touch, but so was the underlying frame. I don't think you can go wrong with the sofa model and the leather choice you mention.

[drcollie]

Cavalier, Document, Piazza, Dream, Aspen, Caress are all leathers from Chinese tanneries. Virtually all hides are imported these days as EPA and OSHA effectively closed all USA tanneries (except for small volume, specialty ones) in 2008. The best and most costly hides come out of Europe, and they start at price grade 3 and go to 5.

China has no cattle industry. The 'crusts' they use (raw leather) is typically from USA livestock and is salted for preservation then shipped to China for tanning and finishing.

Cavalier is a married cover in certain frames (notably the Austin and City series) but is also available as loose hides.

I've not seen any quality issues with any of the Chinese leathers over ones coming out of other countries. The hides out of China are usually boring because they are all either finished (painted) or semi-aniline, but they're steady and give good service duty.